释义 |
undue influence Influence that prevents someone from exercising an independent judgment with respect to any transaction. A contract or gift procured by the exercise of undue influence is liable to be set aside by the courts. A will may likewise be held to be invalid if it is shown that the testator made it under conditions of undue influence (see testamentary intention). The exercise of undue influence must normally be proved affirmatively—it must be shown that there is a dealing or transaction in which an unfair advantage has been taken of another person. In the case of certain transactions, however, some relationships (for example, between parent and child, husband and wife, doctor and patient, solicitor and client) may be presumed to involve undue influence in the absence of evidence to the contrary. For example, banks should advise spouses to seek independent legal advice before mortgaging the family home at the behest of the other spouse for business loans (Royal Bank of Scotland v Etridge (No 2) [2001] UKHL 44, [2001] 3 WLR 1021). |